Lakeland Terrier

AKC Group: Terrier

Club: United States Lakeland Terrier Club

Secretary : Christopher Wincek
Address: 14686 Grand Army of the Replican Hwy, Chardon, OH , 44024--950
Website: www.thelabradorclub.com
Email: jlkerrenterprises@jps.net
Club Type: Specialty

General Apperance:

The Lakeland Terrier was bred to hunt vermin in the rugged shale mountains of the Lake District of northern England. He is a small, workmanlike dog of square, sturdy build. His body is deep and relatively narrow, which allows him to squeeze into rocky dens. He has sufficient length of leg under him to cover rough ground easily. His neck is long, leading smoothly into high withers and a short topline ending in a high tail set. His attitude is gay, friendly, and self-confident, but not overly aggressive. He is alert and ready to go. His movement is lithe and graceful, with a straight-ahead, free stride of good length. His head is rectangular, jaws are powerful, and ears are V-shaped. A dense, wiry coat is finished off with longer furnishings on muzzle and legs.

Size:

The ideal height of the mature dog is 14½ inches from the withers to the ground, with up to a one-half inch deviation either way permissible. Bitches may measure as much as one inch less than dogs. The weight of the well balanced, mature male in hard show condition averages approximately 17 pounds. Dogs of other heights will be proportionately more or less. The dog is squarely built, and bitches may be slightly longer than dogs. Balance and proportion are of primary importance. Short-legged, heavy-bodied dogs or overly refined, racy specimens are atypical and should be penalized. The dog should have sufficient bone and substance, so as to appear sturdy and workmanlike without any suggestion of coarseness.

Coat:

Two-ply or double, the outer coat is hard and wiry in texture, the undercoat is close to the skin and soft and should never overpower the wiry outer coat. The Lakeland is hand stripped to show his outline. (Clipping is inappropriate for the show ring.) The appearance should be neat and workmanlike. The coat on the skull, ears, forechest, shoulders and behind the tail is trimmed short and smooth. The coat on the body is longer (about one-half to one inch) and may be slightly wavy or straight. The furnishings on the legs and foreface are plentiful as opposed to profuse and should be tidy. They are crisp in texture. The legs should appear cylindrical. The face is traditionally trimmed, with the hair left longer over the eyes to give the head a rectangular appearance from all angles, with the eyes covered from above. From the front, the eyes are quite apparent, giving the Lakeland his own unique mischievous expression.

Temperament:

The typical Lakeland Terrier is bold, gay and friendly, with a confident, cock-of-the-walk attitude. Shyness, especially shy-sharpness, in the mature specimen is to be heavily penalized. Conversely, the overly aggressive, argumentative dog is not typical and should be strongly discouraged.

History:

The Lakeland Terrier is one of the oldest working terrier breeds still known today. It was bred, raised, and worked in the lake districts of England long before there was a kennel club or an official stud book. The fact that it has been outstripped by many younger terrier breeds is not so much a reflection on its quality as a tribute to the scope of its working ability. The name "Lakeland' indeed, is a modern acquisition. In olden times the breed was known as the Patterdale Terrier.

It is related that long before the days of the great John Peel, or before any packs of hounds were formed, the Lakeland was kept by the farmers in the mountain districts, who, at that time, would form a hunt with a couple of hounds and these terriers. Their work was to destroy the foxes found raiding the sheepfolds. There was sport, but it was not sport for sport's sake alone. It was a very practical matter.

So great was the courage of the native Lakeland Terriers that they would follow underground for tremendous distances. It is told that, in 1871, Lord Lonsdale had one which crawled 23 feet under rock after an otter. In order to extricate the dog it was necessary to undertake extensive blasting operations. Finally, after three days' work, they reached the dog, and he was gotten out, none the worse for his experience. Still other dogs have been known to be locked underground for ten or twelve days and have been taken out alive. Others have paid the penalty.

Cumberland was the birthplace of the Lakeland Terrier. This is a particularly beautiful county, richly studded with lakes, particularly in the southern part. The Bedlington is attributed to neighboring Northumberland county, but it is not difficult to suppose that there was certain traffic in dogs at that time.

The first organized effort to promote the interest of this Cumberland County breed came at the Kersurck show in 1912, when a terrier club was formed. The new club made considerable headway for two years, and then came the outbreak of World War I. Naturally, all civilian activities were under a damper, and little or nothing was heard of the Lakeland Terrier again until 1921. That year fanciers met at Whitehaven, in Cumberland. According to Thomas Hosking, who later came to the United States and who was one of the nine fanciers who attended, the name Lakeland Terrier was chosen at that meeting. The standard was drawn up at that time, and shortly afterward the breed was made eligible for registration in the stud book of the Kennel Club (England). The Lakeland Terrier was accepted for registration in the AKC Stud Book in 1934.

Although a worker for generations, the Lakeland makes a very good appearance in the ring. He has a dense, weather-resisting coat, strong jaws of moderate length, powerful hindquarters, and good legs and feet on a short, strong back. Despite his gameness and courage, he has an attractive, quiet disposition.